I have wanted to visit Europe for oh, most of my life. Two of the top countries on my list? Italy and Greece.

Both are in chaos lately, though Greece has been falling apart for a couple of years now. Both have new prime ministers, as previous leaders were forced to step down to avoid total economic collapse.

Silvio Berlusconi’s resignation was a slight surprise, since the Italian prime minister held tightly to power through a lot of scandal and turmoil in past years. His departure was met with joy in the streets. Apparently he hasn’t ruled out a return to politics eventually, though I think he should probably focus on his personal issues for the moment. Economist Mario Monti will replace him.

In Greece, Lucas Papademos was sworn in as the new prime minister last week, faced with the daunting job of bringing the country’s massive debts under control. He’s tasked with leading the country through the next few months as new austerity measures and bailout details are hashed out; a federal election is scheduled for early in the new year. Let’s hope the riots are over for now.